Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Ashland (NYSE:ASH) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Monday morning.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on ASH. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Ashland from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Ashland from a hold rating to a buy rating and boosted their price target for the company from $100.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Ashland from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and boosted their price target for the company from $100.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Ashland from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Ashland from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $106.44.

Ashland Price Performance

NYSE ASH opened at $94.28 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $97.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.50. The company has a current ratio of 3.15, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $4.73 billion, a PE ratio of 25.01, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.92. Ashland has a 1 year low of $70.82 and a 1 year high of $102.50.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.13. Ashland had a return on equity of 5.57% and a net margin of 9.09%. The company had revenue of $575.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $574.64 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.43 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Ashland will post 4.55 EPS for the current year.

Ashland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 1st were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This is a positive change from Ashland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Ashland’s payout ratio is 42.97%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ASH. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 122.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ashland during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ashland by 143.9% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 378 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 338.0% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 403 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Ashland by 163.7% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 559 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. 93.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ashland

Ashland Inc provides additives and specialty ingredients in the North and Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates through Life Sciences, Personal Care, Specialty Additives, and Intermediates segments. The Life Sciences segment offers pharmaceutical solutions, including controlled release polymers, disintegrants, tablet coatings, thickeners, solubilizers, and tablet binders; nutrition solutions, such as thickeners, stabilizers, emulsifiers, and additives; and nutraceutical solutions comprising products for weight management, joint comfort, stomach and intestinal health, sports nutrition, and general wellness, as well as custom formulation, toll processing, and particle engineering solutions.